The case features heavy, sensitive material, with the allegations of discrimination and coercive practices for worship at the Nashik outpost of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) being turned inside out, as one of the chief accused, Nida Khan, has seemingly been seeking anticipatory bail for pregnancy.
At a very hierarchical level, the timeline was so long for this story, the experts said, that the cover got like wildfire. Nida Khan is on the run and has fled to Mumbai in hopes of running away. Khan, more recently, has contacted a Nashik local judge and requested anticipatory bail.
In this plea, she has claimed that she is pregnant and pregnant with her first baby and that she is using a medical defence based on the arrest. But Nashik’s local police, including the Special Investigation Team (SIT) are suspicious, wanting to explore her claim through a medical lens.
The SIT is currently investigating complaints from at least eight female employees. These are serious allegations about sexual harassment, inappropriate contact with women and abuse for the sake of marriage. Investigators are also trying to determine whether any of those workers had taken part in religious rituals under pressure or were insulted because they spoke out. Numerous people connected to the case have already been arrested by law enforcement.
Arrested are Danish Sheikh, Tausif Attar and four other male employees. Its HR chief, Ashwini Chainani, has also been suspended and held in custody, allegedly ignoring complaints from victims. The controversy has also fired up a movement among the leadership at the Tata Group. The allegations, reported to the chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran, were “extremely grave and distressing.”
An internal probe is in progress, TCS COO Aarthi Subramanian said. TCS takes a zero tolerance for misconduct or harassment policy, according to an official statement from TCS. The company said it was able to promptly receive complaints and continues to cooperate with law enforcement authorities in full.
Employee safety and maintaining a respectful workplace were among the priorities, they said. The priority was staff safety and maintaining a respectful work environment. The investigation is currently underway. However, the court has queried Nida Khan’s anticipatory bail application.
It said this is now putting her pregnancy claim under challenge, as if there really was now on the books a medical problem on the line or just another legal fig leaf to avoid getting arrested. While the SIT will probably ramp up efforts to locate and detain Khan for additional questioning, it will also remain a feeding-through point for conversations on workplace ethics, corporate accountability and what constitutes a strong grievance redressal system.
